Hurricane Katrina, Florida hurricanes, tornadoes and freak winds often wreak havoc on roofing, particularly that in residential communities. The aftermath of these devastating natural disasters is usually a sea of blue tarpaulins covering the damaged roofing while the homeowners await insurance settlements and permanent repairs. This “sea” of blue (or other color) tarps is visually unsightly and creates a negative aura about a community. This negative can have a serious psychological impact on residents and generally downgrade the inherent value of property in and around the “sea” of ugly tarps.
There is thus a need for a substitute for these “ugly” tarps which can both protect a damaged roof as well as provide a more aesthetically pleasing appearance to the roof before it is reshingled or retiled.
Aside from emergencies, roofs regularly need to be repaired and replaced. An initial step in replacing a roof is removal of existing shingles, shakes or tiles plus the waterproof underlayment. The latter is typically “felt paper” which is a rolled sheet material impregnated with a bituminous substance. Such material by itself will typically only provide moisture protection to the underlying building structure for a few weeks. Thus, there is a need for a longer lasting waterproof underlayment that can protect structures for longer periods of time.
In addition, underlayments such as “felt paper” are very heavy, typically 0.176 lb/sq. ft. This weight limits the roll size of such underlayments to about 225-250 square feet when unrolled. Thus, there is a need for a lightweight, durable underlayment that can be supplied in larger roll sizes that cover more roof area per roll and is easier to lift and unroll than “felt paper” and similar underlayment.
Whatever the circumstance, hurricane or periodic roof replacement, it is desirable that an underlayment be available to a roofer that is less unsightly than the typical “tarp” or felt paper, yet is durable enough to remain in place for extended periods before permanent roofing (shingles, tiles, etc.) can be installed.